St. Patrick-St. Vincent singers to perform Sunday at Carnegie Hall

St. Patrick-St. Vincent High Choristers director Ryan Lee, right, directs the group through their final rehearsal before embarking from Vallejo at 4 a.m. for New York, and a Sunday appearance at Carnegie Hall. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald)

By By Richard Freedman / Times-Herald staff writer,

Published By Times Herald

Easter break for St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo ends Sunday, but 44 students won't attend the first day back Monday.

The principal is forgiving, which is what happens when the students are the SPSV Choristers joining director Ryan Lee in representing the parochial school at the WorldStrides Heritage Festival of Gold at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Yes, that Carnegie Hall, one of the most prestigious performance venues on the planet.

"It was an excuse enough to let us out of school," said Lee, who has a bit of history already with the 1891-built Carnegie.

He was a student at SPSV and performed there in 2003. A year later, he returned with the choral group from Sacramento State University.

Old hat? Not quite.

"As a student, it was overwhelming being in the hall for the first time," said the 30-year-old Lee. "Seeing this place you only heard of before and seeing pictures. Being in that space was pretty incredible. New York is one of the premier destinations in the world."

"Even going back-to-back years, it was a blur," Lee said. "Now, over a decade later, I'm pretty sure it'll be the same feeling for me."

Returning as a college student the following year "was just as special," Lee said. "And I hope the (SPSV) kids feel the same way. They've only heard me talk about it the entire year."

Today's performance was hardly set in stone when the invitation came last September. There was this tidy cost of about $85,000. Thanks to students' families, donations from teachers and the community and a series of fund-raisers, the goal was achieved.

"Once we were committed to going, I was going to find the money one way or another," said a confident Lee. "Though families assumed a lot of the expenses, we fund-raise as much as we can."

Though the vocalists and Lee had the holiday week off and flew out of San Francisco at 7:30 a.m. after a 4 a.m. wake-up Thursday, there was still an afternoon rehearsal on Wednesday.

"We have a bunch of dedicated students," Lee said.

The director said that "aside from the obvious" of playing Carnegie Hall, "I hope the students see that their hard work and dedication and extra practice can really pay off in the end."

Lee said the students will be treated to the standard tourist fare - The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and 911 Memorial - plus have a four or five hour block with chaperones to take in what they want.

"It will be interesting to see who comes up with something interesting," said Lee, hoping his students are able to relax even while performing.

"The most important thing is to have fun and not be too nervous. Enjoy the experience," Lee said. "Once done, it will be a memory of hopefully a good time."